I'm supposed to be cleaning....

but I'm not. The day is just too pretty to be inside so here I am sitting on my deck, enjoying the sunshine. It's been so long without it that I just can't bear to be inside. The house work beckons  especially the bathtub scum, but I don't care. I may care tomorrow when I shower, but not now. 

My ride to Anita's today was a little more difficult than I had anticipated, but I made it alright. I got quite the stares when I went through the bank drive-through and the Burger King drive-through on my bike! Anita and I ate our sandwiches outside on their picnic table and then took a short walk. I like Ranch sauce to dip my fries in, I learned today she does not - note to self...ketchup for Anita. She was much more talkative today than she has been. Last week I had a difficult time getting her to grasp the concept of licking an envelope shut and today she was talking about how she needed to give the picnic table and good cleaning and she read part of a recipe off the ketchup bottle. I did notice she likes order. She finds things that are alike and lines them all up in a row. Today there were 5 bananas all lined up on the counter and several sets of nail clippers all lined up on the window sill. 

This picture was taken last week - my friend Anita is in the white sweater and the Anita with Alzheimer's is in the red. 

A couple more pictures related to last night: this is the Attendance ribbon I had to make since I can't find award ribbons anymore to purchase. I think I like mine better anyway ;). 

Yesterday I made strawberry-lime water for a recital beverage. It looks pretty and it's very refreshing and good for you. One of my adult students just loved it, but not many others tried it...oh well, more for me. You can use any kind of fruit you like, our pastor's wife used apples and cinnamon sticks. 

An Absolutely Gorgeous Day...The Better Version

A good share of this post is a duplicate of an early entry. There is some added text and all the pictures have finally been uploaded. I hope you enjoy your walk with me.

October 3rd, 2012...I am absolutely amazed at how beautiful that day was! 

   
The fresh air, sunshine and temperatures in the low 70's literally beckoned to me. I got my housework done and after lunch planned to go on a walk around the lake for about 45 minutes or so. 
   
With Suki in tow and my camera along, I took off! This is a favorite spot in the area where we walk our dogs every day. 
 
 I have been fascinated by this old building since we moved here. My son and I have often dreamed of restoring it and making it into a fabulous home decorated in an industrial style combined with a pop of warmth. It would have an open concept main floor with the bedrooms upstairs. All the floors would be wood and I'd keep as much of the natural stone as I could without it being too dark. Keep your eyes open, I had some fun with this old place.
 
  The sun was warm but not hot, and the sights, sounds and smells immediately lifted my spirits.
   
 I wanted to somehow scoop up and bottle the scents of pine, dry leaves, moist earth and moss to open again on some dark winter day when the The Little Turquoise House is full of stale air from being closed up. I found them intoxicating!
  The water sparkled, the birds flitted from tree top to tree top and the leaves delicately swirled to the ground. My creativity was renewed and I wanted to take photos, write, scrapbook and compose all at once. My mind was full of ideas and thoughts and plans. Days like today are truly gifts and blessings from God!   I dawdled and soaked up every bit of natural vitamin D I could get to shine on my face.
   

Suki and I enjoyed the view from this bench for quite some time. 

   

Here is another glimpse of the old building.

   
 I absolutely did not want to come home and so I dawdled some more and nearly didn't make it back in time for my student that afternoon. Instead of 45 minutes, we had been gone 2 hours! Before going in, I stopped by the garden and found these Johnny Jump Ups still in bloom. They popped up right next to the vegetable garden this summer. A bit of a story here, these flowers and the larger version, the pansy have always been my mother's favorite flower. We bought this house right around the same time my mom passed away and she was more heavy on my heart than the furniture we were moving. With all the doubts and fears and stresses we were experiencing, I found peace and comfort when these flowers started blooming all over our new front yard. Call me crazy, but I took it as a nod of approval from my mother, that we had done the right thing in buying the house and that she was pleased with it and happy for us.  Now this year we planted our first ever vegetable garden and this little patch of flowers showed up only here and no where else in the yard! October 3rd is a day very near and dear to my heart because it's her birthday and this was the perfect way to celebrate it. 

I hope you enjoyed your stroll with us. Welcome back to the Little Turquoise House!

Yesterday and Today

The week has begun on the stressful side. Sunday night after our last walk with the dogs we noticed something was wrong with Suki she was up pacing and crying all night. She was obviously in pain, even to go potty. I canceled my practice time yesterday and took her to the vet, it seems her spine is loaded with arthritis. She is now on an anti-inflammatory and a muscle relaxer but still not doing very well.

Yesterday morning, Daughter number two's room mate called us; Daughter woke in so much pain she was crying and sweating and nauseous so Hubby ran to Houghton to run her to the E.R. Once he arrived though, she was much better. Hubby did some research and he's thinking kidney stones.

Piano tuner came yesterday...$80.00 for that, $145.00 for Suki's visit to the vet and another $65.00 for some essentials at the Co-op. We now have an empty checkbook and I had to put some of that on the Visa card which I hate doing. Praying for a pay-day soon.

Today I have a lesson from 1:30-3:00 and another at 7:00 - 7:45. I need to bake a loaf of bread, reconcile the checkbook...more like slight of hand LOL, light cleaning, work-out, start work on my Christmas cards. 

From God's Word: Numbers 25

I need to get my day started, but will try and come back later to catch up with all of you. 

 

An Amazing, Gorgeous Day!

I am absolutely amazed at how beautiful today was! The fresh air, sunshine and temperatures in the low 70's literally beckoned to me. I got my housework done and after lunch planned to go on a walk around the lake for about 45 minutes or so. With Suki in tow and my camera along, I took off! The sun was warm but not hot, and the sights, sounds and smells immediately lifted my spirits. I wanted to somehow scoop up and bottle the scents of pine, dry leaves, moist earth and moss to open again on some dark winter day when the The Little Turquoise House is full of stale air from being closed up. I found them intoxicating! The water sparkled, the birds flitted from tree top to tree top and the leaves delicately swirled to the ground. My creativity was renewed and I wanted to take photos, write, scrapbook and compose all at once. My mind was full of ideas and thoughts and plans. Days like today are truly gifts and blessings from God! I dawdled and soaked up every bit of natural vitamin D I could get to shine on my face. I absolutely did not want to come home and so I dawdled some more and nearly didn't make it back in time for my student this afternoon. Instead of 45 minutes, we had been gone 2 hours! October 3rd is a day very near and dear to my heart, and this was the perfect way to celebrate it. 

I took pictures...lots of pictures! It's killing me not being able to share them right now, but I want to put them on my external hard drive instead of on Hubby's computer, but he says he has to show me how to properly disconnect it and so I don't want to connect it until I have that instruction. Of course, he's gone for the evening. I was going to wait to tell you about my day, but I wanted to get it down while it was all so fresh in my mind. I may have to copy some of this post again when I have the pictures ready. You can just skip the text then and just look at the pictures if you want.

The temperature dropped much earlier than I had anticipated and shortly after our early supper I had to close the front door and the windows. 

I know we are expecting a rain/snow mix this weekend, but if tomorrow is nice at all, I'm considering going out again. 

I'm very tired tonight, but it's that exercise, fresh air and sunshine kind of tired so it's good. I should sleep well tonight.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I'll go on Enjoying every lovely day Because I'm sure You would've wanted it that way. And when there's sorrow it's no more than I can bear Because you are, and always were, and always will be there

Happy Tenth Birthday Suki!

Happy Birthday Suki!

Jun 23, '12 7:49 PM for Julie's contacts

Today, my dear little friend turns ten years old!
When my mother moved here she begged me to help her find a dog. I decided it would be good for her to have the companionship, so, not having any money to spend, I put the word out and her landlady knew of someone that needed to find this little girl a new home. I was thrilled! She was small and easy for my mother to handle and care for, but the first time I laid eyes on her I was in love. She seemed to have a connection to me right away too because whenever I went to visit, she couldn't wait for me to pick her up so she could give me a hug. Yes, she hugs!
It wasn't long before my mother would become so confused and often angry that she could no longer care for her and one day Suki ran away. I put an ad in the paper and sent one to the radio station, the pet clinic and the shelter. I can't remember if was three days or four before we received a phone call from a woman who said she had seen the ad and thought she was in her backyard. The woman said she'd keep an eye on her until we arrived. When Hubby and I drove up I was afraid she'd bolt, but she slowly began to realize who I was and she came to me. I scooped her up and hugged her close, I thanked the woman and I believe I cried tears of joy all the way home. It took several days for her to recover following her ordeal. After that day I realized she'd have to come live with me.


She's had a bit of a rough life. When we took her, she was spared being put down simply because she didn't get along with the other dogs in her previous family. She has a pedigree and had already begun training to be shown. I don't think her time with my mother was the most pleasant, and shortly after she came to our house, one of our large dogs didn't get along with her and was able to take a swipe at her face and actually popped her eye out of the socket!! It was a tearful, emergency ride to the vet where she was put in surgery, her eye fully removed and the area stitched closed. She has done very well with only one eye, only bumping into a door frame on occasion. She now has a cataract in that eye and may be facing blindness at some point. She also has recently been diagnosed with a heart murmur that we will have to keep close tabs on.

Her favorite toys are a stuffed fish and a rubber ball on an elastic string. She loves going to the bank drive-through window where the tellers give her treats. She enjoys being outside and she follows me everywhere and is always laying close by no matter what room I'm in or what I'm doing. We take at least four short walks together every day and sometimes she goes shopping with me and waits patiently in the car. She knows my routine and when it varies unexpectedly, she gets so confused and tries in her own little way to tell me something isn't right. She hates going to the vet - what dog doesn't. I trim and groom her myself...she hates it, but she'll allow me to do anything I need to and she trusts me.

I'm so glad my mother decided she wanted her because now I have a very dear, faithful friend who has stayed by my side and kept me company when at times, everyone else seems so far away and distant.

So Happy Birthday dear, sweet Suki...may we have many more years of fun and friendship ahead!

I LOVE YOU!